


Elusive Familiarity

by Browa123



Category: Danny Phantom
Genre: Bonding, Character Turned Into a Ghost, Gen, Mother-Son Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-21
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2019-11-27 09:25:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,387
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18192758
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Browa123/pseuds/Browa123
Summary: When Maddie first woke, seeing her translucent limbs and the acidic green swirls around her, it felt like her nightmares had come true.But, now with an eternity at her back, perhaps not all is lost.





	1. The Last Shot

She hears her own deep breathing first.

The veil of unconsciousness rips away from her eyes, leaving her exposed to sickening green in every direction. Confusion sets in first, as Maddie takes in the surroundings. Ectoplasm swirled around her in every direction as she lay suspended in midair, left to pick up the pieces of what had happened beforehand.

There was a gun, she remembers that. She was alone in her house, Jack was out ghost hunting and the kids were at school. She had disarmed one, but someone else... a loud bang... the gunshot... and now there was ectoplasm everywhere. A thick lump forms in Maddie's throat as she slowly realizes what this means.

With reluctance and hesitation, she looks at herself. The same Hazmat, the same gloves, not a thing seemed to have changed, and yet everything did. It didn't take an expert to know what the slight transparency, the glowing, what it meant. And she was an expert. And as an expert, it was feeling like her worst nightmare was coming to pass.

Maddie Fenton, ghost scientist and hunting expert was dead. Now she was what she hunted. Now she was a ghost. And the thought sickened her.

It was when she realized she was still herself when she decided to move. Gaining control of her movements while in suspension took some work, but soon it became natural to float. Too natural in her opinion. Though when she would start thinking about how her flying actually works, she'd stop in place.

This wasn't right. Her very existence in this moment seemed to be defying everything she thought she knew. She still had her past memories, she knew how she had died, and she still felt anger, confusion and sadness. But she was a ghost, and everything seemed so wrong now.

And there were other ghosts. She tensed when some smaller conglomerates of ectoplasm moved past her like a school of fish, making no move to attack her. More ghosts followed, seeming to gather at some undefined place in the ghost zone.

Big ghosts, small ghosts, monstrous ghosts, humanoid ghosts. Never in her life had Maddie seen so many, then again she never will, but the gathering seemed off. What were they all gathering for? Maddie decided to follow, joining in with the crowd as they circle an isle with a single tree.

What they were circling is blocked by the many ghosts taking over her field of vision, but something in the back of her hearing alerts her to a most awful and anguished sound.

It was soft at first, but when she picked up the sound, it seemed to amplify in her hearing though the moans of the other ghosts around. A most awful sobbing, the cries of a young soul, and it filled her own ghostly core with a deep sadness.

A yeti-like ghost had floated beside her. It's large, soft paws pat her shoulder as a somber smile takes it's face. He seems to look through the crowd of ghosts, at something on the isle that she can't see. Is it the one who is sobbing? Why were the ghosts gathered for a sobbing young child.

"You seem confused, young one," the ghost speaks in soft tones, the aura of sadness affecting every ghost around. The yeti ghost rubs Maddie's shoulders in an act of comfort, pointing to the center isle where the ghosts had gathered. The yeti's other hand was of ice and bone, something that would have fascinated Maddie if she was not lost in this wave of sadness.

"The young prince is grieving," the Yeti begins. "He has retreated from his human lair into the ghost zone for a relief, but his aura is strong, and his sadness is ours."

"The ghost prince?" Maddie echoes. Sure, she had heard of the ghost king, but a prince?

"You are a new soul, so allow me to explain," the yeti continues, leading Maddie away from the gathering of ghostly spirits who surrounded their so called prince. "The great one is a young spirit who, in the first year of his existence, re-sealed the old ghost king on his lonesome. This was a task that took many ancients years to do and many numbers. Because his core is not mature enough despite winning in the Rite of Conquest, he is merely a prince until the day comes."

"Not even he knows his destiny yet, for he is still too young to understand it. But now, he has endured a great loss to his line and name, and is left to suffer without one of his crutches..." the yeti ghost finishes, leading Maddie further away. Even at this distance, the sadness of the ghost prince permeated the air, weighing heavily on her soul.

Ghosts shouldn't feel sadness, shouldn't feel pain. It's what she had believed her whole life, and only in death can she now see how wrong she was. She, a ghost is feeling sadness and pain, the sadness and pain of a much stronger ghost, sharing it's pain with every ghost in the distance of it's aura. And from the many ghosts, big and small around the prince she cannot see, it was obvious that everything was wrong.

She could still hear a young boy sobbing nearby, despite her and the yeti moving a fair distance from the rest of the ghosts. Was this the sobs of the prince? The yeti had said he was a young ghost, not old enough to be crowned king as of yet. Maddie had never expected the sobs of a ghost, especially that of one renowned as a prince, to sound so human, so full of emotion.

The ghosts swirled for what felt like hours, before something streaked away from the isle, and they all dissipated, the aura fading. Despite herself, Maddie had stayed in the comfort of the yeti ghost throughout the ordeal. It was a far cry from her husband, her Jack, but it would have to do as a comforting arm in the midst of her own pain on top of the prince's.

Even with him gone, she still felt the pain of her own grief around her, and she let the yeti ghost lead her further away from the tree on the isle. Despite the icy energy of the ghost, his smile was warm and welcoming to the new soul.

"Allow me to introduce myself. I am Frostbite, leader of the Far Frozen. We are a race of ghosts that live not too far from here," the yeti introduced, offering a hand to shake. Maddie takes it cautiously, and Frostbite's smile widens.

"It is quite alarming to wake up in the world of ghosts for the first time, and during a time like this too. I figured a warm welcome and a place to stay until you have the energy to craft a lair felt appropriate," Frostbite decides, leading Maddie once again. "For now, you may rest with my people in the Far Frozen. Not many ghosts are introduced to the next life happily, so it is the least I can do!"

Frostbite takes Maddie to a frozen island fair ways away from where she had awakened in the ghost zone. There were more yeti-like ghosts who also welcomed her with warm smiles and greetings. Maddie greeted them back, feeling it impolite to refuse them just because they were ghosts. Day one of ghostdom and everything seemed to be on it's head now that she was one of what she had studied.

Despite the snow and ice, she was not cold. Temperature appeared to be one thing she couldn't feel. This strange and new experience began to slowly drown out her grief. Fascination of an entire society of ghosts she thought was impossible began to fill her empty heart. Was this her obsession? To learn about ghosts?

She could exist if this was her calling to the afterlife. Learning about ghosts had been her passion since the beginning of her hunting career, and now she had all the time in the world to learn of them by existing as them. 

Besides, Frostbite and his people seemed friendly for ghosts. She had never seen a ghost like Frostbite in Amity Park before, and despite a few rudimentary weapons, they appeared non-violent in the least. Pushing aside the fact that they were ghosts with bulky frames and fur, they seemed almost human with their conversations and knowledge.

Frostbite especially was happy to give answers to any questions Maddie asks. He was knowledgeable and wise in the realm of ghost culture, something she had never studied before, never had the need to study before. It was all so new and exciting, the realm of ghosts.

When Maddie asked about the cave off to the side of the village one day, Frostbite lit up with the most excited of grins, leading the new ghost to the entrance, where there were many inscriptions on the wall depicting a familiar emblem. Maddie would know it anywhere, from the many pictures and depictions all over her home town.

It was the symbol of Phantom, the world's most elusive ghost.

"This is a shrine dedicated to the Prince of all Ghosts," Frostbite gestured his hand along the walls of the cave, depictions of a crudely drawn ghost with Phantom's emblem fighting another ghost that appeared to be larger. "The Savior of the Ghost Zone is one soul that outmatches any in the realm of power to date, and soon he will be ready to be crowned King over Pariah Dark. This place is dedicated to the day he saved the entire Ghost Zone from tyranny."

"Phantom is the prince?" Maddie puts her hands to her mouth in complete shock. Her words are barely a whisper as she takes in the very idea of the most elusive ghost in Amity Park being a young prince. It was quite the revelation.

"Indeed. There is very few ghosts in the zone who do not know of Phantom, the Darksbane Halfa," Frostbite puts a hand on her shoulder again, moving her through the shrine. It continues to depict Phantom, although sloppily drawn, defeating the larger ghost and locking it away.

"Darksbane Halfa?" Maddie echoes, having never heard the term before. Frostbite continues to grin at her as they head into a room at the end of the cave.

"Danny Phantom has gained many titles over his existence. The title of the Darksbane Halfa refers to an old Ghost Zone Prophecy. It states that in Pariah's rage against the Halfa species of ghost, one would rise in the ashes of his rule and bridge the two worlds once more, becoming the bringer of an era of peace." the icy hand of the yeti ghost moves along a chest in the center of the room.

"Our people and many other ghosts have held true to this prophecy for many eons. Pariah Dark was a terrible king, bent on power over both realms, and was sealed away to prevent his terrible plans from coming true after he exterminated the rare halfa ghosts. When the Prince, a halfa born in this new era, had come and defeated Pariah on his lonesome, we knew that he had to be the one prophecy spoke of."

"That's... pretty amazing actually. I've never been a fan of the Phantom myself, but to elicit this much respect..." Maddie murmurs, looking around the room.

"Yes. Though Prince Phantom has been renowned for his acts, there are ghosts who still wish to challenge him. Even if he is particularly unliked in many places in the zone, every ghost respects his power," Frostbite explains. "Now then, we've lingered long enough. I'm sure you will start wanting to look into lairs and haunts, now that your core is matured a few days enough to create one."

Maddie wanted to learn more about the elusive Phantom, but enough was enough for one day. After all she had learned so far, being so insistent might make her sound creepy, regardless her ghostly status. Though she is curious of one more thing.

"Why does Phantom prefer Amity Park compared to the entirety of the Ghost Zone? Isn't he supposed to be the king in a few years?" she can stand one more question.

"Ah, yes. It comes down to the species of ghost the Great One is. Being a halfa, he was not born in the Ghost Zone, but rather the human world. Thusly so, his lair exists in the human world. He could just as easily make one in the Ghost Zone, but he is still young and prefers his home to a world still so unfamiliar to him." Frostbite elaborates.

"His home..." Maddie repeats. So, Phatom's lair was Amity Park itself then? Thoughts of the town fill her mind at that moment. Jack and her family, that she left so soon. "Frostbite? Do you think... the prince would be opposed to me going back home, to Amity Park?"

Frostbite smiles impossibly wider with pride and joy. "I'm sure as long as you do not cause a ruckus in the human world or mess with the occupants of Phantom's lair, he will allow you to take residence. I can lead you to the portal if you wish, and trust me, he knows when a ghost is causing trouble in his home."

"You would?" thoughts of seeing her family again fill her ghost core with a warmth so comforting. "Thank you, I can't thank you enough for your kindness."

"Of course, now come along. The portal back to Amity Park is a ways away..."


	2. To Return Home Again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been a while on the update. Phic Pight left me benched and I still had an AU to debut, but we're back up and running now!
> 
> Thank you so much for the overwhelming support on chapter one alone! Eighty kudos is wild, everyone. It means a lot and it gives me the extra burst of motivation to continue these fics!
> 
> We now resume your scheduled Dead Mother and Her Half Dead Kid plot drama~

Frostbite leads her across the ghost zone, and Maddie still finds herself fascinated with how big this world is.

For everything she knew in life about ghosts, so very much of it is being proven wrong ever second she exists here. She has vivid memories of her life, and there are ghosts that are nice. Frostbite and his people are an example, soft and kindhearted.

And the ghost zone is so much bigger than ever documented. For years, ectology had described this land of the dead as a pocket in space time, small, nondescript and devoid of sustainability.

The Infimap Frostbite guards proves her wrong again. The ghost zone is as big as the known universe, even bigger perhaps. It's no space pocket, but another dimension entirely.

As Maddie flies with Frostbite, she knows that she is going to dedicate years into researching the zone itself and just how it interacts with the living world. 

Even if no one would hear it from the mouth of a deceased scientist, she would be happy to learn everything there is to know with her own body and soul.

It felt like being born again, every revelation, every new fact rolling around her core in a buzzing of excitement. It felt like freedom, being able to do what she wants.

An eternity to study every nook and cranny of an entire dimension didn't seem so bad.

Though finally, as they approached a seemingly more barren part of the ghost zone, Maddie can feel her core swirling and burning with a familiar warmth.

Through frames with no pictures, doors with no exits and stairs with no end, finally, the swirls of the Fenton Portal can be seen just on the emerald horizon.

Maddie grasps Forstbite's frozen hand, giving it a meaningful shake. Without him, she may not have accepted herself like she has now, found her purpose. 

"I can't thank you enough for your hospitality," Maddie tells the snow ghost. 

Frostbite grins as normal, accepting the hearty shake of the ex-Huntress with vigor. "It was my pleasure, and I hope you take care in your time outside the ghost zone."

After her bittersweet farewell, and promises to visit, Maddie grows closer to the Fenton Portal, soon flooded with memories of her life.

This portal was her life's work.

Since college, she dreamed of this portal. Building it from scratch, tightening every bell and whistle. Meeting Jack, and Vlad, two individuals that shared her dream just enough to make it a reality.

And thus, the tragedy that followed the prototype, and Vlad being ripped from the group. The distance between them since then had grown vast, and the accident probably left their old acquaintance tramatized.

And yet, she and her husband never gave into what was lost. They continued their lives work, until the day came for it to come to fruition.

And even if it didn't work at first, it was here. It is here. Before her very eyes, the gateway to home she had created with her soulmate and her family.

A family her very being is yearning to see again.

Though there is hesitation.

What would they even think of her? 

For every year of her life, she has known ghosts to be evil. Mindless, violent and obsessive. Her husband knows it. She made sure her kids knew it.

There is a high possibility they would scorn her. Hunt her. Call her ectoplasmic scum, a monster, an imitation. Drive her out with nets and guns and blasters of even her own design.

Maddie isn't feeling as ready for this now.

The trepidation of this possibility is setting into her core now, as she can barely imagine any family member pointing a gun at her, but her logical side continues to argue the possibility. The possibility of her very afterlife, her second chance, being destroyed by her soulmate. Or her own flesh and blood.

It's a very rude awakening to how she spent her own life. Tearing away second chances. Vowing to destroy innocents. Even the evil ghosts had a reason to be. A tie to the world that they can't leave unfinished. And yet she would have still torn them to shreds.

Inches from the portal, Maddie finds herself shaking. She's never hesitated like this before. Is it her self-preservation instinct? Her very existence arguing that there are hunters on the other side of this gateway?

The ghost shakes her head, stirring up the old resolve and determination from her past self. Despite the fear, if she doesn't do this, doesn't see her family at least once, she may live the rest of her afterlife regretting it.

She has eternity. Her family does not. And not every one if them will pass into the afterlife with an obsession, the ability to become a ghost.

In fact, it's her hope as a mother that her family lives full lives. Lives to see old age, and fulfill their every desire in them. To not end up in the ghost zone, but to find peace after many, many years of life.

It may be a lonely eternity for Maddie, but she would bear it to see her family satisfied. Happy with their lives and happy with what comes after.

Yes. If she doesn't go to see them now, she may never go. And if she never goes, they may never see each other again. It would be an eternity of regret for the now reborn huntress.

Despite the lack of needing to breathe, Maddie takes a steady breath to steel her decision. Now or never, as they say, and she thrusts her spectral body through the swirling green projection before her.

The emerald color of ectoplasm fades as she crosses dimensions. Arrays if gray and metallic coloring fill her vision as the lab comes into focus.

She blinks a few times, the familiarity of the room calming her. How many hours had She spent tucked away in this room? So many familiar memories cause her core to buzz with newfound excitement of seeing everything all over again.

The space around her is in quite the disarray though. And, like any good mother -slash- responsible lab worker, she should clean it up before any unnecessary reactions take place that hurt her family.

It should be simple. She knows where everything belongs, and moving the scattered weapons and experiments should be a breeze. She may be a ghost, but she's also a professional.

And it is simple, at first. The weapons are easily stocked back into the vault in the back pf the lab, intangibility proving to be helpful so she doesn't have to use any code to get in. It's a good thing neither she nor Jack got around to installing the ghost repellant on the door...

Though Maddie remembers doing so herself, didn't she? Maybe she's just remembering wrong, can't expect her memory to be a carbon copy of her human life.

With all weapons shelved or vaulted up, Maddie moves to cleaning up the ecto experiments, feeling she's forgetting something.

She remembers what it is when the experiment she tries to clean burns her hand. She drags it away from herself and cradles the spectral limb against her chest.

"I would have warned you sooner, but I didn't want to break your focus."

Maddie whips her head around a full one eighty degrees at the sound of a new voice. The echoing tone indicates another ghost is in the lab with her.

From a shaded corner, two ectoplasmic green eyes lock onto her own. There's a glow around the strange specter's silloette, a half smile barely visible in the low lights of the lab.

Maddie takes a defensive stance, but tries to keep her calm. She's never met this ghost in person, but she's studied passing glances enough to know which one it is.

"You... you're Phantom, right? Danny Phantom?" Maddie finds her words. She's only been close to this ghost one other time before, years ago. And even then it was just a moment, a brief glance.

"That's me. It's hard not to know who I am nowadays, yeah?" Phantom grins a bit wider. The halfa's arms are folded over the signature logo as he observes Maddie with a critical eye.

Maddie does her best not to flinch under the scrutinizing gaze, but her core can sense the disparity between their power levels even at this distance across the room.

Phantom outclasses Maddie in every sense of the word. It's probably in best interest not to engage him or tick him off. It's clear as crystal that she would loose.

The Halfa takes a moment longer to cast his judgement on the new formed ghost, before closing his glowing eyes and leaning against the wall.

"As thanks for cleaning this lab, I'll give you a few warnings," the specter before Maddie decides. The full ghost of the two does her best to observe Phantom's shaded silloette from the spot she's rooted in.

The pure power, the way he hides in the shadows, how a ghost can look so human, can be so powerful. Phantom is seen all the time, and yet is rarely seen. An enigma in every way, nearly unsolvable like this. It would be a deathwish to try and find answers like this.

Phantom continues. "Don't go confronting any of the ghost hunters around town. You're too new, and not strong enough to deal with them, especially on your own. You should probably stay away from Fentonworks here on in. Jack Fenton's been in a mood since his wife passed away, and you don't want to meet him while he's mourning."

Maddie feels her chest sink. Jack is still mourning her passing. It can't be put into words, how badly she wants to see him and hold him again. Tell him it's alright and that she's here again.

The bitterness of Phantom's point stings like hell. 

Jack never goes anywhere unarmed. If he's in as foul a mood as the specter is implying, a ghost floating up to him claiming to be his wife is a one way ticket to an ended existence. Or, being torn apart molecule by molecule, as the man would say.

Phantom seems to sense Maddie's distress. The ghost comes out of the secluded corner and toward her, giving off a friendly smile. He walks, clearly not feeling in the mood to float as normal.

"No need to worry. He's just hurt is all. Everyone still is, but they're healing. I'm sure you can spare some time to let him heal. Ghosts have forever, after all," the Halfa sighs, keeping his arms folded. Still closed off, still guarded.

"I suppose you have a point, Phantom..." Maddie concedes. She, too, releases a sigh, letting herself take in the reality her death has left her family with.

"Tell you what," Phantom cuts in, breaking the moment of silence. "If you promise not to cause trouble for Amity Park and it's citizens, I'll let you go where you want around here. I'm still going to keep tabs on you, but your free to do what you will around town as long as it isn't against the law. Fair?"

A white glove leaves the halfa's crossed arms, held out to shake as the adjacent limb drops to the ghost's side. Phantom, ever elusive and yet expressive Phantom, now has a grin that boasts reassurance.

Maddie eyes the gloved hand for a moment before grasping it in her own. It's a firm shake, confirmation of her plans to abide by Phantom's terms.

"Fair," Maddie assures as she shakes the hand in her grasp. It feels surprisingly warm in her firm grip. Phantom's internal temperature must be warmer than her own. Something else to add to the list of enigmatic characteristics, the ex-huntress supposes.

"And don't worry about the mess around here. Someone should come clean it up tomorrow morning," Phantom informs Maddie, releasing his grip and taking a few steps back.

"See you around!" he tells her with undertones of finality, before he vanishes into thin air. Not a trace of his presence is left after the fact.

Maddie is left staring at the hand that had just shaken that of the most elusive ghost in Amity Park. She blinks a few times, calling back the sudden conversation. A question comes to her mind as she looks at the rows of anti-ghost equipment.

"How did he even get in here, anyway...?"


	3. Wings of Regret, Wings of Remembrance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Death flashback at the mid point of this chapter.
> 
> (Skip passed the living room scene if you wish not to see)

Knowing that the lab isn't going to get much more tidy without the input of someone... living, Maddie heads up the stairs and phases through the door. She doesn't want to wake Jack or the children by moving the obviously rusted handle.

Although they wouldn't be children anymore, would they? With how time acts in the ghost zone, Maddie has no idea how much has passed since her formation within the ghostly dimension.

The stairs turn into the kitchen area, as usual, the one connected to the living room. Despite her new self, the smells and sounds of her home at night fill her memory. If it's a replication or if she's actually able to feel it, she cannot tell. But it comforts her to be here nonetheless.

To be home again, how she longed for this moment. Even shrouded by the darkness of night, her young core practically hums with her own happiness and relief. She never thought she'd be here, never thought she'd see here ever again after fate sealed her.

Everything is how she remembered it, aside the light coating of dust on most things. That would not do, seeing as the lab is still in bad enough a condition. Her family would not be living in an unclean home, as far as Maddie is concerned, life or death be damned. A bit of tidying is certainly in order, seeing as anything that could hurt her spectral body should still be in the lab.

The kitchen is certainly easy to deal with, at least. Using her newfound abilities let her phase the dust and grime through the dishes and appliances more easily than any other method, making them look much more new.

Pleased with the look of her clean kitchen, Maddie moves to the living room next, ready to clean whatever dust had settled there as well. Floating across the floor toward the room, Maddie lets her feet dangle a bit. As much as she misses the warmth of life, this new body has its perks.

Not a sound in the night to wake her sleeping family for one. Maddie wouldn't want to disturb them. They still think they've lost her, after all, and her ghostly presence would likely reopen the wounds from the moment she left this world.

Darn that Phantom. Even now the words of how anguished her soulmate still is over the loss of her life rings in her head. For her own protection as well as theirs, she must stay away until they can be reasoned with. And it could take years, if ever to happen at all.

But as a wife and mother, she would wait for them. She'd wait centuries for them to come around, so she can come to them. It was her duty, her promise to her family, to wait until she can reunite with her loved ones.

For now, cleaning the house in the dead of night will do. After all, her family doesn't deserve to live in such a neglected mess of a home.

The living room is in much the same state as the kitchen. Dusty, unkempt and overall depressing. Another easy cleanup with Maddie's new powers. Or, at least, it should have been.

In an instant, Maddie feels her ghostly core seize up in some unknown, terrifying sensation. This scene, the very angle of which she observes this one room. It all seems to flood back to her, the terrible truth of this room. It leaves her immobilized in the presence of one echoing sound.

**Bang!**

Sharp, like the cracking of thunder. Racing though her head at breakneck speeds, her chest suddenly feeling hot with a terrible pain. It had pierced right through her back. Her once light blue hazmat is now stained, red, red, crimson red.

Leaking down on the floor, down her back. Like a river, like a waterfall. It was all so red. Red screams echo in her ears. Cries of desperation, of vengeance.

Through the red, it fades to green. The moment she awakens in the world of the dead.

The reflex of her chest heaving makes her faulter. Maddie is on her knees now, the room switching between that of a dusty, neglected one and one soaked in blood. Her blood.

"Freeze, spook!"

Through the dust, there's the whines of an ectogun right behind her. She would know that voice anywhere. 

Jack. Her love, her soulmate. Until death do they part, for now her husband as a weapon leveled at her back. The gun whines louder, and the look in Jack's eyes is empty.

The hunter looks furious in the rest of his body, but the eyes give away how broken he is. Maddie has never seen him like this, never seen him without the boastful energy that made him into the man she loved.

Maddie may be the ghost here, but Jack looks as dead as she is. The hunter puts a finger on the trigger, not even pausing for breath as he steadies his aim. Jack never takes the time to aim.

"Jack-"

The ectogun fires and it just barely misses Maddie as she moves out of the way. The blast had singed something, however, as Maddie can feel a sharp pain even if her human body was never hit.

It feels like wrapping a third arm around her body when she notices the wing Jack had grazed. All that time in the ghost zone, and she had never seen them. The pair of bright, blue butterfly wings that had acted as a cloak up until this point.

But this wasn't the time to marvel. Jack was already warming up his next shot and aiming for her chest again. "I said freeze," he growls again.

"Jack, wait!" Maddie attempts to protest. The hunter fires again, but a quick move to the left makes sure all of Maddie's appendages she didn't know she had are accounted for this time.

"Don't feed me your lies, ghost!" Jack shouts, firing another three shots at Maddie. The hunter pulls back a lever on the weapon to charge it and beings firing again.

"Listen to me!" Maddie pleads, but it only ends in her other wing getting torched by another blast. She wraps them back into a cloak and whimpers.

Jack growls and fires again, Maddie heading for the door to get away from the angry hunter. Jack doesn't recognise her in the slightest, and it makes her core ache with immense sorrow.

"I'll never listen to any ghost! Not after one murdered my wife!" Jack declares with seething hatred in his voice. Maddie takes a few steps back.

A ghost murdered her? No, no that isn't right. She was shot. She saw the shooter, the perfectly human shooter with enough ill intent to outmach any ghost Maddie has met thus far.

So why does Jack think a ghost killed her?

With no time to think, Maddie intangibly rushes out the door. Jack is quick to go after her, shouting demeaning insults at her very existence as a ghost and firing again and again. Despite every other shot missing, the words burned her very soul.

Maddie can't fly as well in the human realm as she did in the ghost zone. With a wince, she manages to open her torn cloak into a pair of slightly singed emperor butterfly wings and lift off. A pain filled flight begins.

The movements are jagged and imbalanced, but it's enough to get her away from her screaming husband. Her husband who would have killed her. Torn her apart for what she is, not who she is.

The thought makes her sick, but this isn't the time to dwell. She always had her suspicions of this outcome, but how desperately she hoped not to be right. So much for that.

Maddie comes in for a shaky landing near a lake. She doesn't know how far she's flown, but the ache in her scorched wings couldn't keep her aloft any longer. Despite the small wounds, the impact from the ectogun stings like crazy.

A staggered minute collect herself leaves her peering into the lake. After finding the wings on her back, she wants to know how much she's changed. How different she was in life, compared to that of death. A mental image of her human self is fresh in her mind as she looks to the watery reflection.

She almost looks like a stranger. Sure, her silhouette is the same, but so much of her had changed. First of all, the wings. A pair of bright blue wings blossomed out of her back, and they droop a fair bit when she notices her real self.

Her Hazmat, once a bright blue in itself, had become a more light red. The gloves and belt, even her boots had a silvery glow about them. She mistook the silver for a transparency before now, just so used to seeing her hands clothed in a deeper black.

She can barely stand to see the red color much longer, so her wings fit the form around her body and return to being a black cloak once again. She may never see red color the same way, ever again, without being reminded of how it covered her. How it covers her now.

Looking back at the lake, Maddie continues to take in the look of her new body. 

Her skin had been died a light indigo, and her slightly misshapen eyes are left a bright yellow, reflecting every sweeping gaze. A pair of pointed ears stick out of her periwinkle locks of hair, along with a small pair if antenna to match the wings.

Why has she not seen her reflection before now? Did it matter so little to her in the scope of everything else? It must be so. It's all been so overwhelming for the deceased wife and mother. Her world is warped and her body matches it perfectly.

Maddie stares silently into the lake a while longer. She's dead, she's a ghost. She knows that. But actually seeing herself for the first time is what causes it to sink in. Light silver gloves dig into rubbery hazmat fabric as the Huntress turned prey shivers again, holding back tears.

The antenna on her head waver softly, there's a disturbance in the air. Another presence? Another ghost. Maddie can just feel this shift in spectral energy, no trackers or satellites required.

Maddie turns to see a pair of snow white boots land beside her. It's Phantom again, and the ghost sends her a weak smile.

"Its tough, isn't it?" The teenaged ghost sighs, turning toward the lake to stare at his own reflection. "Seeing it the first time. Seeing it's actually happening."

"What are you doing here?" Maddie asks the ghost, sincerely.

Phantom leans back a bit, dipping his legs in the water. "You looked like you needed a friend."

"Why would a ghost as powerful as you care for about me?" Maddie mutters.

Phantom gives Maddie a chuckle, turning and smiling again. It looks broken up close. And his eyes, even if a different color then Jack's, even glowing, look glossy and empty. 

Maddie's chest aches seeing such a look on a face that young.

"There shouldn't be any reason not to have someone to sit with. Besides, it's a nice night. Perfect for stargazing." Phantom changes the subject.

".... are you ok? You don't look well, Phantom." Maddie states this, trying to see why the ghost looks so sad. Phantom in turn makes a show of avoidance, looking back into the lake.

"I'm fine." He huffs, not saying much else after that.

A silence follows, the air thick with that same depressing tension from a few hours ago. Avoidance from Phantom continues as they sit there, doing nothing.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Maddie gently presses after a moment longer.

"What would you care?" Phantom grimaces and shivers, like he's barely keeping himself together under the relaxed facade.

Maddie smiles back at the young ghost. Despite all the power Phantom holds, he's still young. And even as a ghost, he's still a boy.

"You look like you need a friend, too." Maddie answers him.


End file.
